Engaging Africa: Washington and the Fall of Portugal's Colonial Empire [Paperback]

Witney W. Schneidman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0761828125 | ISBN-13: 978-0761828129

Engaging Africa: Washington and the Fall of Portugal's Colonial Empire tells the story of how successive administrations—Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford—tried to maintain the confidence of their NATO ally, Portugal, while facilitating the process of decolonization in Angola and Mozambique. Ultimately becoming an epic battle of democracy versus dictatorship, African nationalism versus geo-strategic pre-eminence, and East versus West, this book, largely based on primary sources, tells the story of one of the Cold War's most intense confrontations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Portugal's departure from Africa, and the role that the United States played in this process, is an extraordinarily important and tragic episode of the Cold War era. Drawing on voluminous declassified official documents, combined with interviews with virtually all of the principal policy makers of the era, Witney Schneidman has written an excellent diplomatic history on the making of U.S. policy toward Africa. He also tells a fascinating story. (Gerald J. Bender )

Engaging Africa is a compelling story. For those interested in the history of U.S. policy toward Africa, this book is essential reading. (Susan E. Rice )

This is a superb diplomatic narrative of the competing national interests shaping U.S. policy towards Portugal and its colonial empire in Africa, when the 'winds of change' were blowing across the African continent. Schneidman provides a vivid description of the maneuverings behind the policy debates and colorful insights of the personalities involved during this important, often forgotten, moment in history. (Ambassador Paul Hare )

This is the best study of U.S. relations with Portugal and Portuguese Africa from Kennedy through Ford, the difficult years when U.S. policymakers had to decide how best to respond to Lisbon's efforts to retain the Portuguese empire in Africa. (Piero Gleijeses )

This book, a must-read for anyone interested in decolonization or Cold War diplomacy, is the definitive diplomatic history of U.S.-Portuguese relations in the 1960s and 1970s, in the context of Portugal's 1974 revolution and the end of its African empire. (Nicholas Van De Walle Foreign Affairs )

Portuguese Africa and Portugal is a dramatic story, unique in the annals of history. Witney Schneidman has rendered a great service by taking on a neglected tale and telling it extremely well. . . . The description of postrevolutionary Portugal is as accurate as any I have seen. (Frank C. Carlucci, III )

Schneidman's book adds its weight to the developing argument and challenges historians to continue to delve more deeply into the problems in United States decolonization policy which have helped to shape the post-colonial world in which we live today. (Daniel Byrne H-Net Book Review )

This excellent work reflects both its academic origins through extensive archival research and an insider view of policy changes and personality clashes. Summing Up: RECOMMENDED. Upper-division undergraduates and above. (C.W. Hartwig Choice )

About the Author

Witney W. Schneidman is President, Schneidman and Associates International, an Africa-focused, Washington, D.C. trade and investment consulting firm. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Clinton Administration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: University Press Of America (January 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761828125
• ISBN-13: 978-0761828129
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, but not much, into US policy failure in colonial and post-colonial era Portugal, October 30, 2011

By 

Janus - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Engaging Africa: Washington and the Fall of Portugal's Colonial Empire (Paperback)

I lived through many of the events that are described in this book and though certainly not an expert on this topic, I'm probably more familiar with it than the average reader. English language books about the Portuguese experience in Africa, particularly during the early 60s to the mid to late 70s are few and far between, so any book that is decently researched and written, as this one is, is a welcome addition. It is not a perfect book, though. Despite an impressive list of sources and exclusive interviews, including with some of the most prominent Portuguese political figures during this period, the treatment of the topic is fairly superficial. Most of the material seems to come from declassified cables, open sources and less than incisive interviews with key players. The interviews with Portuguese and American personalities are, for the most part, not particularly revealing -- sometimes no more than platitudes. And there is almost no material from sources in the former insurgent movements. MIsspellings of common Portuguese terms abound, and the author employs an often disconcerting asychronous structure to the narrative. At its best, the book provides a window into the utter failure of US policy to affect Portuguese policy towards Africa in the years leading up to the coup of 25 Apri 1974 that deposed the old regime in Portugal, the failure of US intelligence to predict the coup itself, and the failure of US policy, despite Frank Carlucci's best efforts, to make any significant difference in the post-revolutionary struggle for democracy (the "PREC," or "Processo Revolucionário em Curso." Far from being a victory of US policy and diplomacy in engaging Africa, the independence of Portugal's colonies seemed to have been carried out partly by chance and partly by neglect. And Portugal's transition into democracy are due almost entirely to the combined efforts of Mario Soares and his Socialist party alliances, and to the determination and reasonableness of the Portuguese people themselves, who seemed to know, despite agressive efforts by the Communist Party and its left-wing allies, exactly what they wanted, and did not want, to come out of the revolution. As noted, very little insight is provided into the dynamics of the insurgent and post-insurgent process in the former Portuguese colonies. Other books have focused on this topic in more detail. All in all, this may be a useful general introduction to the unitiated, but it could have been much more, given the resources that the author seems to have had access to.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate and informative, October 27, 2004

By 

Afonso de Almeida "afonsolxpt" (Lisboa, Portugal) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Engaging Africa: Washington and the Fall of Portugal's Colonial Empire (Paperback)

A very interesting book about the US relations with Portugal from Kennedy to Ford administrations.